Well better to be out there meeting people over a keg. Networking is a real thing.
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I agree. This was a very bad situation. The parents of the gamer had no idea and in the end, the student dropped out after a year because of failing grades. Our friendâs son was the unfortunate victim of this kidâs immaturity - he almost transferred out because of the intolerable situation. The college was unhelpful.
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Dâs friend turned down Cornell engineering for instate UT Austin engineering. Family wants him to graduate debt free and Cornell was not kind with CCS.
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Youâd be surprised how many gamers are out there. It is a huge deal for some and many donât just do it alone. They have groups of kids they do it with. But also not 24/7. It can also be very social believe it or not.
I also know where my daughter goes there are internet limits and the number of parents concerned that their kid will use up the wifi limit is hilarious. These kids bring these huge tvâs and crazy gaming set ups. My kids played the wii and some other games but not like their life depended on it, but I do know as I said, this is a thing and a big thing, there are clubs and what not for it, so for some, this is how they socialize. Just different than going to parties, etc. Even discord which used to be knowing only as a gaming platform, isnât even used only for that anymore.
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My kid is a gamer (several hours a week, not all day, and with people she knows, so plenty of networking can happen there as much as over a keg stand) and will go random on a roommate 
She didnât have enough time to go through and try to find someone with everything going on right now trying to study for her DE course finals. I worry a bit about the random with no questionnaire matching, but having to pick one by this Friday is a bit difficult. I donât know that kids are posting all of their bad habits on these matching chats anyways.
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No itâs not and UT isnât kind with merit either, but at least if youâre instate it is a heck of a lot cheaper than Cornell. If youâre OOS, it isnât going to get you off much cheaper when all the extras are included. The one negative with UTâs Engineering though is that youâre pigeon holed to that major. If you donât like it, itâs near impossible to change to a different engineering major, and some other majors. Most then transfer to math. Cornell on the other hand, once in COE, you can pick any major. But, if $ is the issue, it is 100% not worth taking on the debt. Iâm glad your friend realized that. Some people donât and think only Ivy and nothing else. I have a kid at both schools and trust me, definitely not worth the debt at Cornell over UT.
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I hear ya, and on applying direct into engineering major was on our radar for sure. D could end up transferring out of EE if she does not click with it. But I predict she would transfer into Comp E which is still in the same dept at Texas Tech. May I ask what your daughterâs engineering major at Cornell is? And has she changed it since starting?
Please make a MAJOR mention of the guitar playing.
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Indeed
âMom, dad, I know I got busted for underage drinking, but I really needed to practice my networking skillsâŠâ (congrats if your kid is imaginative enough to come up with this excuse)
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We are in state. We would have paid for MIT but none of the other schools my son considered would have made the cut. With free tuition it is almost impossible to beat!
RE the rooming situation: at my Dâs future school, the only items on the housing questionnaire are whether you are a night person/morning person, more neat or messy, are you/would you mind being with a smoker, and could you live with an emotional support animal in the room. I think only LACs probably have the capacity to handle more complex matching criteria, though that would be nice.
I agree that thereâs something good to be said about being flexible, open, and meeting new people. But being cautious and needing time to warm up is a neurological thing with some introvertsâŠitâs just more difficult for some to jump in cold with both feet. My D is a friendly introvert with good social skills. She wants to meet a lot of new people at college and is excited about trying some new activities. She often says to me that she finds it easier to be outgoing when she has the security of knowing one other person. I also think sheâd be more outgoing if sheâs comfortable in her dorm room when she needs to re-group. I donât think sheâd just hole up with a roommate even if they do become besties.
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My S22 is a gamer. Plays about 2 hrs/day and 5+ hrs/day on weekends. He mostly does it with friends â who scream at each other. We had a NMF friend who went to college and flunked out because he gamed too much. Did any of you have a good experience with your kid âgrowing upâ when going to college and not gaming as much?
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My kid is very particular about keeping her room spotlessly clean. Her closet and drawers are always immaculately organized, her bed always made. And No, she doesnât have OCD. College is about adjusting with different kinds of people, which I am not worried about for her. However it does make me wonder about the type of roommate that she will get
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@STEM2017 i have a totally dum question. Can electric guitar sound be routed to headset so only the player hears it?
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Yes, it can. Itâs the only reason I havenât killed my husband yet. Ha ha ha. I jest, but he plays all.the.time and itâs a marriage saver.
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I just found out that D is in a roommate group and it was based on housing portal conversations via the internet, and none have shown photos. Apparently how someone looked was not a major deciding factor for any of these gals.
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Holy crap! Thatâs insane! We live in DE and pay less then $1,000 a year in property taxes and we donât have sales tax. The funny thing is, whenever they try to pass a referendum to increase the school taxes, it takes years to actually pass. I would happily pay more in property taxes for better schools.
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Iâm sure appearances had something to do with my Dâs selections (although more influenced by what people wrote) but she was mostly looking for signs that the person looked kind, happy and down-to-earth. Too many glamour shots (prom photos are certainly OK) might have been a red flag. My D isnât a big social media user and it WAS a little nerve-wracking (especially by the 4th go-round). What would have been more nerve-wracking, for her, would be to go to college not feeling sure if someone was happy to room with HER. This might be more common for students who are different from the norm in some respect, especially if theyâre also a little shy. Just something to think about if your child is very much a mainstream kid and also extroverted.
I sent D to new situations quite a few times in her life (like summer away camp, etc) precisely to have experiences making new friends. Whatâs initially a little hard for her In new environments that most kids donât have to think about is that she has grown up as racial minority adopted into a white familyâŠin our town sheâs just seen as herselfâŠeveryone is used to herâŠbut everywhere else sheâs jolted back to the reality that she registers as someone slightly different than the norm (however subtle or even positive the perception). Itâs not a big dealâŠshe handles it well. But just a thing she has to brace herself for. Sheâs kind of a homebody tooâŠso itâs important for her to feel she will be comfortable withâŠand accepted by the other person in the room. especially this year after the anti-Asian Covid jokes and worseâŠ
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Maybe your S could look for a gamer for a roommate? Heâd have his headphones on doing his gaming while your S is playing electric guitar. If he really needs to play all the time, thatâs the only way I could see someone else not minding.
Any excessive noisy habit is going to be unfair to a roommate, I think. But, thatâs also part of the growing up process. If youâre living with someone else, you have to learn to be respectful of the common space, including sound levels.
Finding the practice rooms sounds like the best idea offered. That way, he wouldnât have to find the gamers or the 1 in 100 kid who says he doesnât care about hearing electric guitar 24/7 (once heâs in that situation, who knows how that will go).
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